Birth of the Project
The seeds of this project were sown back in 2016 when I was working as a volunteer in the project investigating interactions between livestock and Central Himalayan Langur in the alpine meadows of Rudranath (30.51917°N, 79.32412°E ), the Uttrakhand state of India at ~ 3500 m asl. During this period, we have spent considerable time interacting with sheepherders about their life, cultural traditions, their gods and beliefs, their knowledge of the forest and its resources, challenges they face in this landscape, conflict with wild animals, herding traditions and practices, etc. With these interactions, we have learned that there is so much knowledge they have about these alpine meadows which can be conserved by utilizing their lifelong experiences and with the application of scientific management. So born the project "Shepherds of Himalayas”, which we aim to apply across all Himalayan landscapes in India, following their journey in these harsh terrain (as time permits). We are aiming to execute this project for the long term only in the alpine meadows of Rudranath, though we will explore other pastoralist communities throughout the Himalayan landscape in India for a better understanding of diversity amongst them by collaborations.
Currently, the typical threats and challenges (which needs to be investigated with long term studies) for the conservation of the alpine meadows are,
-Rapid expansion of dwarf Rhododendrons
-Hunting and Poaching of wild animals
-Uncontrolled collection of medicinal herbs and roots
-Increasing pressure due to tourists for camping, trekking, etc
-Uncontrolled grazing by cattle and mules
-Unmanaged grazing by sheep/goats
Currently, the typical threats and challenges (which needs to be investigated with long term studies) for the conservation of the alpine meadows are,
-Rapid expansion of dwarf Rhododendrons
-Hunting and Poaching of wild animals
-Uncontrolled collection of medicinal herbs and roots
-Increasing pressure due to tourists for camping, trekking, etc
-Uncontrolled grazing by cattle and mules
-Unmanaged grazing by sheep/goats
Can they co Exist? : Shepherds as Bugyal Rakshak
Rudranath comes under Kedarnath Wildlife Sanctuary (KWS; 30.75000°N 79.60000°E). It is one of the largest designated Protected Areas (PAs) in Chamoli, Rudraprayag district, Uttarakhand, India, covering an area of ~ 975 km2. The meadows of Rudranath supports a very good population of wild ungulates such Himalayan Thar (Hemitragus jemlahicus), Himalayan Serow (Capricornis thar) as well as few Musk deers (Moschus leucogaster) along with carnivores such as Common Leopard (Panthera pardus) and Himalayan Black Bear (Ursus thibetanus laniger). Shepherds from nearby villages are using these meadows for grazing their herd for generations, utilizing its natural resources for themselves as well as for their livestock. We will try to explore, “Can they co-exist, taking care of meadows as well as its wild animals, simultaneously preserving their herding traditions?”. They have seen the changes in these meadows first hand, to its landscapes, weather conditions, flowering seasons as well as the behavior of wild animals. They are the people who live in the meadows for ~ 6 months in the year and know it better than anyone else. So, is not logical to make them one of the principal stakeholders towards the conservation of the meadows?
We are trying the same, working along with them as collaborators in every aspect of this project in Rudranath.
We are trying the same, working along with them as collaborators in every aspect of this project in Rudranath.
Primary Objective
- Ethnographic documentation of pastoralist communities and their practices in the Himalayas
- Documenting the lifelong experiences and knowledge of pastoralists for their landscape
- Understanding their concern and difficulties to explore various possibilities to improve their life safeguarding their cultural values
- Exploring possibilities to conserve this fragile Himalayan landscape with the active participation of pastoralist communities
The Team
Mahesh (Founder & Coordinator)
He is professionally a Mechanical Engineer but passionately a storyteller with an affinity writing about Himalayan landscape and its people. He is exploring these landscape from last three years, sometimes birding, mostly walking on trails with shepherds, trying to understand their life.
Prabhat Singh (Local Coordinator)
He is a budding naturalist in Mandal valley, Chamoli. He has worked with various researchers, assisting them from collecting behaviour data to collecting blood samples of Bats in Kedarnath Wildlife Sanctuary. Being born and brought in Siroli village, he has been exploring these meadows from his childhood. He is our go-to man for everything in fields for this project in this valley.
Pavan Rajurkar (Illustrator)
He is an Illustrator based in Mumbai, India. He has done his graduation from Sir J.J. Institute of Applied Art, Mumbai, and Masters from "National Institute of design" Ahmedabad. He was also featured in Lürzer's Archive’s 200 Best Illustrators worldwide in the year 2016. He always looks forward to incorporating his skills of illustration to other forms of expression such as animation and various mediums of storytelling.
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Pradeep Singh Bisht (Collborator)
He has done his Masters in Economics in the 90s, wanted to pursue his PhD but become shepherd due to the family situation. He is leading his herd in alpine meadows of Rudranath from last 20 years, know it like the back of his hand. He is the mirror for us, providing insights into shepherd’s life in these alpine meadows.
Peter Van Geit (Honorary Associate)
Born and raised in Belgium, settled in India since 1998, He always had a strong affinity towards nature and sports. Founder of the Chennai Trekking Club . He is wilderness explorer, ultra-runner, mountain biker, open water swimmer. He love to sweat it out and believe that life starts at the end of our comfort zone. Explore his website "Ultra Journeys" documenting his running, hiking, cycling to reconnect with untouched, beautiful nature in remote mountains.
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